Men and women can use their different strengths to help create a more innovative workplace. At the individual level, workers who are aware of possible weaknesses due to their gender can adopt new traits and strive to improve themselves. By cultivating gender-related strengths, individuals can perform better, advance further and take a more holistic approach to their careers.

While the me-first attitude can work at times, the willingness and ability to cooperate is a key component of success. Barbara Corcoran, a real estate mogul and investor on "Shark Tank" has addressed this topic on TV and in her books, saying, "People want to do business with someone they like. If people like you, they're going to want to do business with you. And if they don't, you're going to have an almost insurmountable obstacle to overcome."

A study published in the Economic Journal found that women actually compete more willingly and perform at a higher level when they're on a team. Firms with more women on their boards see this effect, getting significantly higher returns on sales, invested capital and equity, reports Forbes.

These findings show that men are more likely to follow Warren Buffett's advice to "hang out with people better than you." "Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction," Buffett once said at a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.

Men studied for the report, on the other hand, tended to approach problems from their own points of view, aiming to convince others that they were right. While this tactic can be effective at times, the approach women tend to take was more likely to truly persuade team members and lead to constructive compromise.

This tendency can also help men be more resilient in the face of challenges and setbacks. Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and business mogul on "Shark Tank," faced several failures early in his career, yet his confidence kept him going. "I had as much doubt as confidence," Cuban wrote for Business Insider. "I was just hoping the confidence would win over the doubt and it would all work out for the best."

Women, on the other hand, tend to underestimate their skills and performance and are plagued by self-doubt. This tendency is so commonplace that it even has a name: "impostor syndrome," which is when a high-performing, qualified person feels inadequate even in the face of positive feedback and evidence of their competence. Women are far more likely to suffer from impostor syndrome than men.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer exemplifies this desire to take on more. "I always did something I was a little not ready to do," Mayer said, according to Inc. Magazine. "I think that's how you grow. When there's that moment of 'Wow, I'm not really sure I can do this,' and you push through those moments, that's when you have a breakthrough."

In the business world, asking for a pay raise or promotion is the surest way to get it. Compared with women's approach to advancement, men sometimes find success faster simply by asking for promotions and raises.

Yet a diverse workplace is central to creating a team where new ideas, innovation and growth can thrive. "Endless data show that diverse teams make better decisions," Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of "Lean In," told USA Today.

"We are building products that people with very diverse backgrounds use, and I think we all want our company makeup to reflect the makeup of the people who use our products," Sandberg said. "That's not true of any industry really, and we have a long way to go."